1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to microcircuitry test equipment and, more particularly, to probes used therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous processes for the production of microcircuit test probes found in the prior art. For instance, probes have been designed which are disposed over a recess, and the testing circuit is then brought into contact by bending the probes into the recess. Additionally, probes have been produced by bending metallic elements; for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,439 to McGahey et al. Also, a flexible coating over a probe head has been suggested in Ardezzone U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,632. Further, probes have been embedded in flexible structures by processes such as those suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,835,381 to Garretson et al and 3,810,016 to Chayka et al.
In the disclosed methods and structures, at least some bending, either during manufacture or during operation, is performed on the probe or a related metallic structure. This, of course, leads to wear fatigue and breakage, especially when dealing with microcircuits where the element to be bent is very fine. In addition, all of these probes, since they are bent, are relatively flat in character, and thus are relatively weak.
Another method for the production of microcircuit probes has been disclosed by Best et al in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 11 (April 1973). This process includes welding of an aligned probe to a preformed base which has, integral in it, a flexible area. The mandrel for the base is then removed to produce a flexible testing unit. This process requires microwelding or brazing, and thus could be improved upon by processes which would directly form the probes in the proper angular relationship to the remainder of the unit. In particular, it would be desirable to be able to reproduce the probe section of a tester for microcircuits without great difficulty, and to produce one that has relatively rigid probes which are manufactured independent of each other, are not easily bendable toward or away from each other, and to not break easily. To this end, the present invention has been directed.